Concept:
The Curie temperature (\( T_C \)) represents a thermodynamic magnetic transition threshold. Below \( T_C \), the thermal kinetic energy is lower than the quantum mechanical exchange energy, allowing adjacent magnetic dipoles to align parallel spontaneously over macroscopic regions (magnetic domains).
Step 1: Tracking Structural Order at High Temperatures
When a ferromagnetic material is heated past \( T_C \), the thermal agitation energy (\( k_B T \)) completely overcomes the exchange forces keeping the atomic moments locked in parallel alignment. The long-range magnetic ordering collapses into a randomized state.
Step 2: Determining the Resulting Magnetic Phase
Once order is lost, the atomic dipoles behave independently. In the absence of an external field, their orientations average out to zero net magnetization. However, when an external magnetic field is applied, these dipoles align weakly parallel with it. This random, field-dependent magnetic state is precisely the definition of paramagnetism.